Wednesday, January 28, 2015

‎It’s remarkable that Jews aren’t more pessimistic about their future.

‎In just the last two weeks, we have watched a horrific terror attack in kosher market ‎in Paris, and then another one on a bus in Tel Aviv. In both cases, Jews were targeted ‎because they were Jews. And these two horrors are merely footnotes on a long ‎history of anti-Semitic attacks. And yet, despite thousands of years of persecution, the ‎Jewish people continue on, unwilling to quit. Jewish optimism is one of the wonders ‎of human history.

‎‎2. Exodus, Exodus and More Exodus

The key to Jewish optimism can be found in what is no less than a constant obsession ‎in the Bible: the Exodus in Egypt. The anonymous 13th century author of the Sefer ‎Hachinuch ponders the following question:

‎‎“…why did God command us to do all these (commandments) to commemorate that ‎miracle, for with one commemoration we would raise our consciousness of this, and it ‎would never be forgotten by our descendents…”‎‎

(His answer, which anticipates some of the psychological theories of the last century, ‎is that man is conditioned by his behavior, and that our character is shaped by what ‎we do.‎Now this is an important point, one that offers a new insight into the importance of ‎mitzvoth in the Jewish tradition; but it is not sufficient to explain why there are so ‎many mitzvot tied to the Exodus from Egypt.) ‎

The Bible sees the Exodus as the basis for an enormous raft of commandments; not ‎just the 20 or so commandments involved in the Pesach Seder, but multiple others, ‎such as the redeeming the firstborn, Tefillin, Tzitzit, the orientation of the Jewish ‎calendar, loving the stranger, and the Sabbath. Even belief in God, the first of the Ten ‎Commandments, is connected to the Exodus. And of course, we are also commanded ‎to remember the Exodus every single day.‎Why is it that so many commandments are tied to just one event in history? ‎‎(Compare the Exodus to the revelation at Mount Sinai, which is connected to only ‎one commandment!)‎‎

3. A Weird Explanation of 400 Years of Slavery

We can answer this question with a question.‎Where did the exile in Egypt come from? It is announced to Abraham, without ‎explanation, in Genesis 15:13:

‎“…One should know that the entire exile in Egypt is to fix the sin of Adam who ate ‎from the Tree of Knowledge (of Good and Bad)…”‎

So here is the theory; Abraham’s great, great, great grandchildren will be slaves, for a ‎sin that occurred nearly 2,000 years before Abraham is born!!

‎At first glance, this sounds nonsensical. But it is actually extremely profound.‎

The Nodah BeYehuda’s lesson is this. After eating from the Tree of Knowledge, Adam ‎and Eve were exiled from the Garden of Eden. They were the first exiles, living in a ‎newly imperfect world. The tranquility of Eden had been shattered, and instead, sin, ‎strife and death became the norm. Life had become a true “half-life”, an ongoing ‎process of decay. Man was programmed to fail, and hope seemed impossible.

‎The exile in Egypt is a perfect example of the type of blind fate one could expect in this ‎dystopian world. And in enduring centuries of slavery, the Jews learned firsthand ‎how awful the post-Edenic world is. The fate of planet seemingly points in only one ‎direction: downward. In the Egyptian exile, they saw how nasty, brutish and short life ‎is, how unfair history can be, and how empty the soul can become.

‎And then came redemption.

‎It is no exaggeration to say that redemption is a revolution. It requires imagination, ‎and seeing the possibilities that don’t yet exist. It requires resilience, to absorb defeat ‎after defeat and still fight back. And it requires hope, the inner conviction that things ‎can get better. At the Exodus, the slaves were able to overcome history. ‎‎

4. The Blueprint for Healing a Broken World

Now we can understand why the Torah constantly reminds us of the Exodus. From ‎the moment Adam and Eve were expelled from Eden, the world has been a broken ‎place. The tragedy behind this brokenness is that it robs you of hope; if sin is in our ‎nature and death is in our future, how much can you expect from life? The Exodus ‎uncovers the possibility of redemption, the blueprint for healing a broken world.‎

In biblical and rabbinic literature, many things are compared to redemption, such as ‎repentance, (Yoma 86b) charity, (Baba Batra 10a) and carrying on a legacy (Avot 6:6, ‎and this is also the point of the Book of Ruth).

‎And this is why the Torah repeats the Exodus over and over again. It is a Jewish ‎mission statement, that we can fix what is broken, for the core of all things spiritual is ‎the willingness to redeem what is broken.

‎If it’s a failure, with repentance.

‎If it's a defeat, with redemption.

‎And one faces the ultimate tragedy, mortality, with remembrance.‎‎

5. The Daily Call of Redemption

‎Having redemption as a mission statement is no small matter. Redemption is not ‎just about upbeat optimism; rather, it demands that we wrestle with a broken world ‎and make it better. An anecdote told by Rabbi Norman Lamm, describes it well. Lamm writes:‎‎

“Yigal Allon, the Vice Premier of Israel, told a story which is worthy of retelling, and ‎with which we conclude our remarks. As a child in his native village near Mt. Tabor, ‎he heard the famous Jewish legend about the Messiah sitting in the gates of Rome as ‎a poor leper and waiting. He was disturbed by the story, and asked an old man the ‎question that was bothering him: "What is the Messiah waiting for?"‎

His answer is something that each of us must consider very carefully and soberly.

‎‎"He is waiting -- for you."”

‎Yes, redemption is our mission statement. And now the Messiah is waiting for us to ‎follow through on it!‎

Sunday, January 18, 2015

Quebec has come a long way since last Christmas. A year ago, we were mired in the ugly debate
over the so-called “charter of values”, a proposed ban on religious symbols in
government jobs that divided the province. A bizarre illustration of the 5 banned
religious symbols made religious minorities feel like they were on the Quebec’s
“Most Wanted” list. Even worse, the PQ was willing to countenance open bigotry.
Later in the campaign, Pauline Marois said nothing while absurd tales about “Kosher
taxes” and “rich McGill students” were circulated by prominent PQ supporters.

In the beginning of December last year, the city of Cote
Saint Luc protested the Charter by inviting a Priest to light a Christmas tree
and a Rabbi to light a Menorah in front of city hall. I was at the rally, and
as an Orthodox Rabbi, it was the first time I had ever attended a Christmas
tree lighting.

So what was I thinking when the Christmas tree was lit? To
be honest, Jews have some uncomfortable baggage regarding Christmas. In
medieval Europe, Christmas was a time of fear and loathing for Jews. Violence
against Jews often occurred during Christmas, from blood libels in the 1200’s
to a pogrom in Warsaw in 1881. But today, the situation is quite different; on
the contrary, modern Jews experience a “December Dilemma”, when virtually everyone
else celebrates Christmas, and Jews are left feeling like an ambivalent guest
at a party, the man standing outside in the cold pressing his face against the
window to see what’s going on. Because of this, in the past I wasn’t 100% comfortable
listening to Christmas carols.

But this time I profoundly moved. Here we were, at a rally
to protect the religious rights of Sikhs, Jews and Muslims, and a group of
Christians were lighting their Christmas tree in solidarity! Instead of
being a divisive force, religion was bringing Jews and Christians together and
demonstrating that religious belief can be a force for unity and dialogue.

Undoubtedly, many of the charter’s supporters were political
opportunists, and some of them were out and out bigots and demagogues. But
there were some idealists who truly believed secularism can bring greater peace
and tranquility. They see religion as a dangerous force in the world, the cause
of war and strife. So in the Charter they set out to marginalize religion, in
order to foster greater unity.

What I saw at the joint Christmas tree and Menorah lighting
is precisely what these idealists missed. Their assumption is unity is based on
similarity; if we can get everyone to have the same beliefs and share the same
culture, we will have a peaceful society. But this is profound mistake. Unity is
possible without unanimity; in fact, we have a stronger unity when we learn how
to embrace diversity.

After the World Trade Center attacks, the former Chief Rabbi
of England, Jonathan Sacks, was challenged to explain how religion can avoid
violence. In response, he wrote a book entitled The Dignity Of Difference.
He argues that the desire to universalize one’s worldview is the primary cause
of political conflict; the more we demand everyone to act alike, the more
likely we are to fight over differences.

Sacks makes a strong case for the idea that diversity must be
respected in order for man to live in harmony. (He sees this lesson in the biblical
narrative of the Tower of Babel). Sacks also utilizes the Talmudic phrase “ways
of peace” to serve as the paradigm of interfaith relationships. He reminds us
that peace is a powerful religious value in itself, and the ability to bond
with people who don’t share our beliefs is a primary religious responsibility.

This lesson is an important one for Quebec, and for all
Canadians. At this first Christmas after the defeat of the Charter, we need to remember
the dignity of difference, that good will for all is a critical ethical and religious
value. And for myself, a Jew living in a sea of Christmas celebrations, Christmas
reminds me of the friendships that respect I share with people of all faiths
and all backgrounds.

A few years ago, in an article in the New York Times,
several Jewish professionals told the reporter how they cover shifts for their
Christian colleagues to enable them to celebrate Christmas at home. Dr. Robert
van Amerongen, an Orthodox Jew who is director of pediatric emergency service
at New York Methodist Hospital, told the newspaper that “although he is senior
enough to be able to take Christmas off, he said, he always works. ''That just
infuses good will,'' he said”.

This example is one we need to embrace. Good will is another
expression of the “ways of peace”; and as we learned in Quebec in the last
year, good will is something precious. Hopefully this Christmas, we will
continue to embrace the dignity of difference.